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Mythology
Handout – to
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What are
Myths?
When we see the word myth, we see it in
headlines like this:
Five diet myths
In this context, a myth is something that
is widely believed, but is likely false.
Can you think of other popular myths?
What is a
Myth?
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a sacred story concerning the origins of the
world or how the world and the creatures
came in to being
generally involves gods and heroes. Myths
often are said to take place before recorded
history begins.
Common Myth
Topics
Across cultures, some mythic topics reoccur
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how the world was made
how to worship the gods
how to behave
the hero's quest
results when humans disobey the gods
In North America
Until recently, most North American /
Western European literature used
Greek and Roman mythology as its
inspiration.
Mythic allusions
you may already
know:
If someone is like Hercules, s/he is __________.
What event is named after Mt. Olympus?
If you go on an odyssey, what kind of trip are you on?
Where are you if you’re in a labyrinth?
The movie Poseidon is about ____________.
We call a book full of maps an ___________.
What other mythic allusions can you think of?
The Greek version of the
Creation Story
The Titans (the elder gods) ruled the earth
before the Olympians overthrew them.
During their rule, the Titans were associated
with the various planets.
The ruler of the Titans was Cronus who was
de-throned by his son Zeus.
Most of the Titans fought with Cronus against
Zeus. Zeus punished them by banishing
them to Tartarus.
Some famous TITANS:
Prometheus - "forethought"
could foretell the future.
was the protector and benefactor of man.
gave mankind a number of gifts including fire.
tricked Zeus into allowing man to keep the best part of the
animals sacrificed to the gods and to give the gods the worst
parts.
Zeus punished Prometheus: chained to a rock where every
day an eagle ate his liver which regrew for the next day.
left there for all eternity or until he disclosed which of Zeus'
children would try to replace Zeus. He was
eventually rescued by Hercules without giving in to Zeus.
Atlas
Atlas was the son of Iapetus.
Unlike his brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas
fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against
Zeus.
Due to Cronus's advanced age, Atlas lead the Titans in
battle.
As a result he was singled out by Zeus for a special
punishment and made to hold up the world on his back.
Olympian Gods/Goddesses
Titans Cronus and Rhea gave birth to:
Hestia, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Hera,
Zeus
Other Olympians: Aphrodite, Apollo,
Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus,
Hephaestus and Hermes
Mount Olympus, Wisconsin
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus, Athens, Greece
http://www.athenstourgreece.com/tours-step-1/mount-olympus/
Greek and Roman Deities
Zeus
Jupiter
Hera
Juno
Athena
Minerva
Hades
Pluto
Poseidon
Neptune
Dionysus
Bacchus
Diana
Diana
Aphrodite
Venus
Apollo
Apollo
Demeter
Ceres
Ares
Mars
Hephaestus
Vulcan
Eros
Cupid
Hermes
Mercury
The Olympians!
http://greece.mrdonn.org/greekgods/index.html
While every culture has its myths, a lot of English
Literature refers to Greek/Roman mythology.
We are going to take a closer look at the
Greeks:
their views of how the world was made,
the gods,
what happens when mortals disobey the
gods.